Rose Petal Essays 1/2
by Blue New Girl
Summary: Daria's past comes back while Quinn is stuck in Maine..


ROSE PETAL ESSAYS 1/2  
BY  
THE BLUE NEW GIRL  
  
*****  
  
  
Rating: PG-13  
Feedback: Love it! This is my first Daria-fic  
so I'd love to know what you think!  
Blue_New_Girl@addictmail.com  
Disclaimer: Don't own them. MTV and all other  
respectful copyright owners do. I made no money off this.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
Morgendorffer living room - Night.  
  
Daria is sitting on the couch reading '1984' by Orson Wells,  
Quinn is on the phone with Stacy, Jake is watching TV and  
Helen is going through the mail.  
Music: Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag  
  
  
Helen: Daria! You got a letter from Highland.  
  
  
Daria: {not looking up from her reading} Throw it away.  
nothing good has ever come out of Highland.  
  
  
Helen: You shouldn't dismiss it so quickly, Daria. It might  
be from one of your friends from Highland.  
  
  
Daria: I had no friends in Highland.  
  
  
Helen: What about those two boys you used to hang out with?  
  
  
Daria: They were amusements. Not friends. Burn the letter.  
It has no place in my world.  
  
  
Jake: We have a fireplace?  
  
  
Daria: Right next to the torture chamber.  
  
  
Helen: Fine. I'm setting it on the coffee table for now.  
Read it, Daria, you don't know what its about. It could  
be good news.  
  
  
Quinn: Dar-ria!! Stop it. I'm on the phone. No, Stacy, I  
wasn't talking to you! I know you didn't steal the idea  
from Sandi, *you* had it first.  
  
  
Daria: Right after Sandi stole your brain through your nose  
while you were sleeping.  
  
  
Quinn: Ewww!  
  
  
Quinn leaves.  
  
  
OPENING CREDITS ROLL:  
Daria In 'Rose Petal Essays'.  
  
  
Mr. O'Neil's class - Day. Everyone is in their usual seats  
while Mr. O'Neil is sitting on his desk with a Stephen King  
book in hand.  
Music: Opening bars of 'In The Springtime of His Voodoo' by  
Tori Amos.  
  
  
Mr. O'Neil: Today we are going to start on a new unit focusing  
on the modern horror legends and their influence on pop culture!  
  
  
Jane: Oh no. I don't like the sound of that.  
  
  
Daria: 'Pop culture'?  
  
  
Jane: No. Modern horror legends. This could get scary. Who knows  
how he'll react while reading these.  
  
  
Mr. O'Neil: And today we're starting off with our first book,  
  
  
Daria: 'How to Overcome Nightmares Induced by Reading Horror Novels'  
  
  
Mr. O'Neil: 'The Green Mile' by Stephen King!  
  
  
Jodie: Excuse me, but, I don't think that's a horror.  
  
  
Mr. O'Neil: No! Of course not! We're starting off with a serial  
novel by a horror *legend*.  
  
  
Daria: And when do we get to the legend part?  
  
  
Jane: Yeah. We're already *living* the horror part.  
  
  
The bell rings.  
  
  
Mr O'Neil: I'll expect you to pick up your books by Friday,  
class!  
  
  
Daria's Locker - End of day. Daria is getting some books out  
when Jane walks up to her.  
  
  
Jane: So, what are you doing tonight?  
  
  
Daria: Oh, the usual. Journey into the seedy underground of Lawndale,  
listen to some bad music, usual.  
  
  
Jane: Wanna watch Sick, Sad, World tonight and eat cold pizza?  
  
Daria: And the catch would be?  
  
  
Jane: Two actually. One; Tom comes. Two; your place.  
  
  
Daria:[sighs] Fine by me. Everyone's away this weekend. [smirk]  
They've all gone up to Maine to reenact life in 1646. Quinn's  
even going. So I'm stuck with a big, empty, house.  
  
  
Jane: [awestruck] How did you manage that?  
  
  
Daria: It was a suggestion. Mom took it to heart and figured it  
would be a good family bonding event. So, she gathers Quinn and  
Dad up and off they go into the merry Maine wilderness.  
  
  
Jane: Not you?  
  
  
Daria: I *said* it was my suggestion.  
  
  
Morgendorffer Kitchen - After school. Quinn is whining about  
the trip while Helen and Jake frantically search for the  
tickets.  
Music: Aimee Mann - Wise Up  
  
  
Quinn: But Mu-um! I have dates. I have a schedule to keep!  
  
  
Helen: No way are you getting out of this, Quinn. You have  
used all your valid excuses a million times and this time,  
Quinn, they're void. You. Are. Going. Now.  
  
  
Quinn: [fake crying] This isn't fair! How come Daria isn't  
going?  
  
  
Helen: She has shown maturity. You on the other hand, Quinn.  
We got a $700 bill from Cashmans yesterday. Think of this as  
your punishment. Now go pack!  
  
  
Quinn runs up the stairs crying while Jake has discovered his  
name-tag on his luggage.  
  
  
Jake: Helen! Look! It's got that shiny paper I like.  
  
  
Jane's Room - Same time. Daria is reading on her bed and Jane  
is painting an abstract pencil.  
  
  
Jane: Um. Daria?  
  
  
Daria: Yes.  
  
  
Jane: You really don't mind Tom being there do you?  
  
  
Daria: [uneasy] No. Of course not. I just won't get in your way.  
I value my oxygen, thank-you-very-much.  
  
  
Jane: And your head.  
  
  
Daria gets off the bed.  
  
  
Daria: I must be off. I have some things to do before you two get  
there. I have to sharpen my guillotine.  
  
  
Jane: Okay. See you later, then.  
  
  
Daria's House - 6 o'clock. Daria is sitting in an armchair,  
thumbing through a book, while Jane and Tom somehow manage to take  
up an *entire* couch.  
Music: Sophie Zelmani - In Another World  
  
  
Tom: So, when do we leave for the pizzeria?  
  
  
Jane: Yeah, Daria, when?  
  
  
Daria: [looking up] Now?  
  
  
Tom and Jane: Sure.  
  
  
Jane hits the coffee table while getting off the couch.  
She sees the letter.  
  
  
Jane: Hey, you've got mail!  
  
  
Tom: Unopened mail. Are you planning on reading it, Daria?  
It's postmarked 3 days ago.  
  
  
Daria: [unfazed] I was hoping it would rot. Open it. I don't  
care.  
  
  
Jane tears open the top and looks at the pink letter inside.  
  
  
Jane: [reading aloud] Dear Daria, I hope you still remember  
me. How could you forget?  
  
  
Tom: Oh. A one night stand, perhaps?  
  
  
Daria glares.  
  
  
Jane: [still reading] Well, anyway, this is Stephan C. Johns.  
Your first and hopefully not last protégé.  
  
  
Daria falls back in her chair in anguish. She covers her face.  
  
  
Jane: [continuing] Do you remember that essay I wrote for you?  
  
  
Fuzzy-dissolve sequence. Daria is sitting by a hospital bed,  
wearing a black jacket and a dark blue T-shirt under. In the bed  
is a teenager, age unknown, with black hair, a pale complexion,  
and dark and deeply beautiful eyes. He is writing in a notebook  
while Daria is reading.  
Music: Opening of Mother by Tori Amos  
  
Stephen: [letter vo] I'm sure you still have it. One of my many  
memento-mori's I left behind with you. Daria, I'm afraid. I know  
what is coming and I don't much like the look of it. I'm really  
not who I used to be, everything is hazy and dull. There isn't  
any life left in me that I didn't leave with you. But that is  
beside my point. I meant, and still mean, every word of that  
essay. Yes, I can be more poetic about it now, but it still  
is true. As is this. A final letter of truth. I'm going to be  
going away tomorrow I believe and I just wanted to tell you that  
I love you. I know it is cheesy but it is very true. I guess  
it's our chemistry. I still remember the first day I saw you.  
You were walking down the street, you're black outfit soaked  
to the bone, eyes as red as blood and a look of determination  
in your eyes. Funny how Mrs. Linge chose you. Maybe she knew  
something we didn't. In eighth grade, you walking into my  
bedroom and teaching me things I never knew. Not only did you  
give me a gift of writing but you gave me the gift of  
friendship. Even if you didn't mean to. I'm writing you this  
because by the time you have read this, I will be already gone.  
I wanted to write you a funeral notice myself because I don't  
like those cold, lawyer written ones. Surely you deserve better  
than that. I'm almost laughing here, because, well, it feels  
strange to be writing as if I'm already dead. Dead. I hate how  
that word keeps ringing in my ears. For 6 years now I've been  
dying. I'm sorry, Daria. I never meant for things to go down  
like this. You were supposed to marry me and we would live in  
a secluded cabin in Montana. I'll always love you, even if you  
never feel the same. But that is okay because, I know that  
somewhere deep inside of you there is affection for me. I'm  
sorry for things to end like this.  
  
  
Suddenly, the teen [Stephan] jerks up violently and Daria  
rushes to his side as doctors rush in.  
  
Daria's Living room- end of fuzzy thing.  
  
  
Jane: [reading] Love Always, Stephan C. Johns. [drops the letter]  
Daria, I never knew.  
  
  
Daria: [her face is buried in the palms of her hands] No. You  
didn't. I'm sorry you had to find out like this. And see me like  
this.  
  
  
Daria grabs the letter from the floor and runs up the stairs.  
  
Daria's Room. Daria is staring at her ceiling, clutching the pink  
notice and another sheet of paper.  
Music: Goo Goo Dolls - Iris  
  
  
Sophie's 16th Century Re-Creation Fair, Maine - Same time.  
Helen and Quinn are churning butter, dressed in black and white  
'formal' 16th century dresses and bonnets. Quinn is busy  
applying lipstick while Helen is doing most of the churning.  
Music: Rob Zombie - Living Dead Girl  
  
  
Quinn: [applying peach lipstick] I can't believe you're  
churning butter! It's so, so, slave-girlish!  
  
  
Helen: [angered] Quinn! You are a worker! You churn the damn  
butter!  
  
  
Quinn: But Mu-um! It's not good for my hands. I might get  
blisters.  
  
  
Lady Anna: [Helen and Quinn's 'owner'] Witch! You're a witch!  
[points a Quinn]  
  
  
Quinn: Hardly! I'm not wearing black lipstick and listening to  
that Voodoo crap.  
  
  
Lady Anna: [shocked] Voodoo! So you are a witch! That proves it.  
  
  
Helen: You're not going to put her on trail are you?  
  
  
Lady Anna: Of course I am. She'll be burned at the stake if I have  
it my way!  
  
  
Helen: But this is a re-creation! You can't put my daughter on trail  
for witchcraft!  
  
  
Lady Anna: You signed a *contract*. We can do whatever we please.  
  
  
Helen: That's against so many laws, Anna.  
  
  
Lady Anna: We'll see what the townspeople have to say.  
  
  
Jake walks up.  
  
  
Jake: Hi kiddo!  
  
  
Quinn: Not now! They're putting me on *trail* for being a *witch*!  
  
  
Jake looks scared.  
  
  
Jake: [timidly] She's a witch?  
  
  
Jake runs off. Lady Anna apprehends Quinn and takes her away.  
  
  
Quinn: Mom! She can't do this!  
  
  
Helen just watches, unable to do anything.  
  
  
Helen: It's okay, sweetie. We'll figure a way out of this.  
  
  
Daria's Room - Night. Tom and Jane are banging on Daria's  
door trying to get her to come out, but to no avail.  
Music: Oasis - Wonderwall  
  
  
Tom: (OS) Daria?  
  
  
Daria: Do the words 'get the hell away from my door' mean  
anything to you?  
  
  
Tom: (OS) No. Daria, come out? For Jane?  
  
  
Daria: How come I don't hear her?  
  
  
Tom: (OS) She's not talking to me. She won't, I guess, until  
you come out.  
  
  
Daria: That's stupid reasoning.  
  
  
Tom (OS) That *wasn't* reasoning! And what's stupid is you  
locking yourself in your room and not *talking* about this!  
  
  
Daria gets off the bed and opens up the door.  
  
  
Daria: (no emotion) Tom. Jane is not talking to you because I  
won't come out. Besides, I knew Stephan was going to die sometime,  
I'm just sorry I wasn't there. I should have been though.  
  
  
Tom: No one blames you for not being there. Come on, Daria, you  
know that.  
  
  
Daria: And you speak from experience?  
  
  
Tom: No. I'm just saying that if he really *did* love you the  
way he portrayed it in the letter, he was *fine* with the fact  
you weren't there.  
  
  
Daria: You *never* knew him, so don't you dare make assumptions.  
  
  
Tom: That's not an assumption. It's the truth.  
  
  
Daria: How come you're making no sense to me?  
  
  
Tom: [sighs] Daria, of course I'm not making any sense to you  
because you *aren't* really listening.  
  
  
Daria: Yes I am.  
  
  
Jane walks up the stairs.  
  
  
Jane: Daria! Finally you've decided to come out.  
  
  
Daria sighs then goes back into her room. We stay outside of  
the room with Tom and Jane.  
  
  
Tom: I guess we should go home now.  
  
  
Daria: (OS) You can stay. There's a guest bedroom and one of you  
can sleep on the couch if you want.  
  
  
Jane: Only if you want us to.  
  
  
Daria: [quiet] I do. I'm not sure if I'll stay in my room all this  
night. You never know, [teary laugh], I just may need someone to  
talk to at four in the morning.  
  
  
Jane: Okay. We'll be here, Daria.  
  
  
Time lapse of Jane and Tom on the couch. Jane calls Trent, Jane  
falls asleep on Tom. Jane wakes up while Tom is watching some  
late-night infomercial. Tom falls asleep. Jane falls asleep.  
  
  
Daria's room - 2:56 AM. The room is barely lit by the single,  
white, stick candle on her desk. However, we can see Daria sitting  
in the middle of the room with essays all around her. She is   
sitting cross-legged with her head in her hands, she hasn't changed  
her clothes yet.  
Music: DJ Shadow - Midnight in a Perfect World  
  
  
Daria POV as she lifts her head and sees the mirage of Stephan   
standing in a corner with an essay in his hands. He smiles a  
killer smile.  
  
  
Close up of Stephan's face so that all we can see is his face.  
Slowly pull out to reveal him lying in his bed with an essay in  
hand and Daria sitting on the bed in a black T-shirt and a pair  
of jeans.  
  
  
Stephan: I wrote that essay.  
  
  
Daria: Finally. Care to read it to me?  
  
  
Stephan: Why? You know I hate the sound of my voice.  
  
  
Daria: [shyly] Yeah, but I like it.  
  
  
Stephen: Oh. Okay then. Here goes...  
  
  
Stephan: [reading VO] Many scientists say that love is merely  
chemicals in our brains and bodies responding to someone else's  
chemicals. They do not know why the chemistry between two  
people is different from the chemistry of two other people.  
Different chemicals in different people equal different reactions.  
I see the whole 'chemicals' and 'chemistry' thing as life. You  
get the point when it's over. Maybe that's how love is.  
  
I'm not sure if Daria believes in true love, but I do. I know  
how crazy I sound and many think; oh, poor dying boy, scrambling   
for love in the last years of his life how sweet. That is not  
how I see it, though. She may not feel the same way I do but I  
believe someday she will. It might be too late for her to tell  
me when she finally does realize it. But at least I will have  
told her how I feel.  
  
I want to be with her because she makes me laugh, she is funny,  
even if she doesn't mean to be. She makes me feel like I'm a  
human, not like the black hole that is empty and pointless that  
I sometimes feel. She makes me feel like a real person shopping  
in the supermarket for groceries on a Saturday evening.  
I want to be with her because she likes my voice and my feet.  
No one has ever liked such intricate details about me. She   
also likes my dog, Carolina, even if the poor Sheltie only   
has 3 legs.  
  
One of the things I like doing with her, besides that  
tutor/mentor thing we are required to do, is watch movies. I know  
she prefers to read the books, but sometimes we like the movies  
better. No one has ever really watched a movie with me. They've  
sat down and stared at the screen for a few hours, but with Daria,  
we get involved and make comments. Sometimes we'll just watch the  
same movie just to make new comments. I think, even though she  
denies it, she likes a certain actor in some of them. My friends  
and my family would never watch his movies with me, but Daria will.  
That's okay because I'm the one that forced her to watch 'Say  
Anything...' 3 times one day. When we're married and old together,  
we can sit back and watch the movies together and still laugh. Even  
if we've seen them a million times.  
  
I'm not naive to the fact that we'll probably never get to do all  
the things we talk about, but I can still dream. What if she does  
really love me now and what if I died tomorrow? I would never get  
the chance to get her reaction. What if she died today and I never  
found that voice to tell her? I could say it like it was a joke  
and we'd shrug it off. A million possibilities exist out there  
and even with this discouraging fact, we keep moving forward or  
sitting still. Just talking it all in. When I'm with Daria it's like  
those what ifs do not mean shit to us or anyone, so we can  
live today to its full potential. Daria is smart, funny, and  
beautiful in such a subtle and majestic way, it's hard to describe.  
Maybe she can do a better job of it one day for me.  
  
  
Fade to Daria's room.  
  
  
Daria: [reading the last line aloud] Maybe she can do a better job  
of it one day for me.  
  
  
She wipes away a tear and falls backwards, staring at the ceiling.  
A tiny knock comes at the door.  
Music continues.  
  
  
Jane: [OS] Daria?  
  
  
Daria: [teary] Jane? What are you doing up?  
  
  
Jane: [coming in the door] I heard you. No, you didn't wake me. But  
I couldn't leave you in here.  
  
  
Daria: Look at this stuff. All written by Stephan. He was talented.  
  
  
Jane sits beside Daria.  
  
  
Jane: Was he?  
  
  
Daria nods.  
  
  
Daria: He wasn't really a poetic person, but his words were. In some  
abstract way.  
  
  
Jane: Well, if you call Stephan's words 'poetic' he must have had a  
big impact on you.  
  
  
Daria quickly places her hand over her eyes and nods.  
  
  
Daria: [through choked tears] Normally, I would want to be alone. Right?  
[hangs her head] I don't really want to be alone right now.  
  
  
Jane: [not used to seeing this side of her best friend, soft] It's okay,  
Daria. Everyone's like that sometimes. I know losing Stephan has to be  
hard on you, I know. But you have to remember, you yourself said that  
it wasn't a surprise.  
  
  
Daria: [visibly crying now] Yeah, I know. But I didn't expect it to  
really come. Parts of me think he is still somehow there. It's these  
essays, I know it.  
  
  
Jane: And that's a problem?  
  
  
Daria: No, the essays aren't. It's what he says in them. I feel guilty  
for moving.  
  
  
Jane: You left when he was still sick?  
  
  
Daria: Yes. But he was doing fine.  
  
  
Daria lies back on the floor. Jane goes back with her.  
  
  
Daria: [turning to Jane] Can you do me a favor?  
  
  
Jane: Anything.  
  
  
Daria: Go with me to the funeral?  
  
  
Jane: Sure. Anything. When is it?  
  
  
Daria: Monday. But if we're going by car we should leave  
Sunday.  
  
  
Jane: Okay. You won't mind if Trent comes, you know, to drive us  
maybe?  
  
  
Daria: Well, okay. Tom can come too.  
  
  
Jane: Okay. We leave Sunday then.  
  
  
Daria: Jane?  
  
  
Jane: [half asleep] I'm here.  
  
  
Daria: Thanks.  
  
  
Quinn's cell - Morning. Quinn is sitting in the corner on a bench,  
crying. She is terribly sick of being in there, even if for only  
a few hours. Lady Anna is standing outside the cell.  
Music: The English Beat - Mirror In the Bathroom  
  
  
Lady Anna: Don't worry, child. If you really are indeed a witch,  
we'll do away with you. But if you are not, then the townspeople  
will find you innocent.  
  
  
Quinn: Don't you, like, get it? This is *supposed* to be a  
recreation obeying today's laws. You can't burn me at the stake.  
  
  
Lady Anna: [laughs] We won't do that, we don't do that.  
  
  
Quinn: Oh. So what are you going to do?  
  
  
Lady Anna: Hmm. I suppose I don't know, yet.  
  
  
Quinn: Awwwww! [starts crying again]  
  
  
************  
CREDITS ROLL  
  
  
Music: Tori Amos - Happy Phantom  
  
And if I die today I'll be the happy phantom   
And I'll go chasin' the nuns out in the yard  
And I'll run naked through the streets without my mask on   
And I will never need umbrellas in the rain   
I'll wake up in strawberry fields every day   
And the atrocities of school I can forgive   
The happy phantom has no right to bitch   
  
Oo who, the time is getting closer   
Oo who, time to be a ghost   
Oo who, every day we're getting closer   
The sun is getting dim  
Will we pay for who we been   
  
So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom   
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel   
They'll be my ticket to the universal opera   
There's Judy Garland taking Buddha by the hand   
And then the seven little men get up to dance   
They say Confucius does his crossword with a pen   
I'm still the angel to a girl who hates to sin   
  
Oo who, the time is getting closer   
Oo who, time to be a ghost   
Oo who, every day we're getting closer   
The sun is getting dim  
Will we pay for who we been   
  
Or will I see you dear and wish I could come back   
You found a girl that you could truly love again   
Will you still call for me when she falls asleep   
Or do we soon forget the things we cannot see   
  
Oo who, the time is getting closer   
Oo who, time to be a ghost   
Oo who, every day we're getting closer   
The sun is getting dim  
Will we pay for who we been   
  
  
  
  
******  
End of   
Chapter   
One of   
Two  
******  
  
*NOTES*  
  
  
Whoa. Scary. I'm actually putting notes in here.  
Let us see, well, I wrote the first half. I couldn't  
fit all I wanted in just one story because I thought  
it would give the feeling of being 'cramped'. There is  
more to the story coming. More emotions I guess.  
A car trip to Austin, Texas. The funeral. And a prose  
adaptation in the works.  
  
:) thanks for reading and feedback is always welcome.  
blue_new_girl@addictmail.com  
  
  
******  
2000   
Blue New Girl   
Productions  
******  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
